This is a revised version of the story. The chapter is corrected by the wondeful A. O. Talmidge.

I don't own Hunter x Hunter, all credits except plot goes to Togashi sensei.

Have a nice reading^^

Chapter one.

The beginning of the end.

Kurapika was drowning in pain. It felt like his eyeballs were burning for a whole eternity – no more, no less. It was impossible to open his eyes or to think about the reason for such terrible pain, not to mention trying to stop this hell – all his being was filled with an unreasonable and unstoppable pain. And, suddenly, at the corner of his mind Kurapika realized that this state was somehow familiar, as if it was not for the first time.

A silent moan escaped from his dried mouth as someone's cold hand covered his eyes. Oh… It just felt so good, as if that coldness absorbed the unbearable pain. An inaudible 'thanks' shouldn't be loud enough to reach the unknown person, but it was heard. There wasn't any clear answer in response, except for some silent sounds, which could've been taken as a contented chuckle. Or, perhaps, it was nothing more but his imagination combined with the mixed sensations he had experienced since the moment of awakening.

Another flash of pain jolted through his head, extracting another strangled scream. His throat was dry and sore; even simply swallowing the sickly-sweet saliva hurt.

The hand over his face moved a bit, tickling his nose with soft fur.

"I guess you really need your doctor," the mysterious person suggested with a bit of mockery in his voice. He sounded like the situation now was expectedly amusing – well, maybe he had got his own reasons to think like that. There was the silent sound of sliding leather and the blessed cold hand left Kurapika's face, letting those hungry pain worms dig deeper into his eyes.

'Was this the same pain my tribesmen suffered when they lost their eyes?' The thought leisurely approached his mind and quickly dissolved, leaving a place for more important issues.

Kurapika's brain slowly started to work, analysing the current surroundings. The presence of the person near him was familiar, but it wasn't Leorio, or somebody else from those he could trust. Who was this man? Kurapika unconsciously licked his cracked lips, while trying to sort out his senses and decipher this uncomfortable feeling of danger. Definitely, it was someone he would prefer not to know.

Kurapika slowly opened his eyes, biting his lips hard not to let any moans escape from his mouth. He hadn't got any idea where he could be now. All he could see was a grey ceiling – there wasn't enough strength even to turn his head around.

But then a dark human silhouette appeared above him.

"Close your eyes, Kuruta," the unknown person ordered him with undoubted force in his voice. It was an all-too familiar voice. It must have been – it was somebody he would prefer to see dead. Only that person emitted such hollow and merciless aura.

It was equivalent to death to show his weakness in front of the enemy, but there was nothing he could do to hide it, because he knew that blood-red eyes already gave away his real state. Weak – Kurapika was just terribly weak.

If he was right – and Kurapika believed that his guess was right - he had to do something to get out of this place as fast as possible. Kurapika chose to ignore the order and put all of his strength to focus his vision at the concrete point. Slowly the silhouette transformed into a fully recognizable figure.

"You!" Kurapika's voice was like a hiss, what a dying snake makes before trying to give the last, mortal bite to its killer. His feelings indeed didn't deceive him. Here was the Spider's leader, standing right near him and holding his hands a short distance from Kurapika's face, obviously waiting for a right moment to gouge out his eyes.

Sadly, nothing from Kurapika's possible actions mattered now. The fact that he was there, being watched by the Spider could have only one explanation and only one consequence. His personal death was watching over him.

Kuroro lightly grinned as he captured rage in the youth's voice – the last descendant of the Kuruta was still trying to keep the mark of the merciless avenger even now in his current weak state. Indeed, those eyes were extremely beautiful, especially when glowing in pain and hate. But he would allow them to stay alive for as long as their owner will suffer - they were too hated by the members of the Phantom Troupe to let them to exist forever as a treasure in another collection of human parts.

"Are you not happy to see me?" Kuroro asked with fake wonder in his voice. Definitely, he had borrowed some manners from Hisoka from the time they were working together. Another angry glow in Kurapika's eyes was the unspoken, but expected answer. Of course, this boy will never be happy to see him – exactly the opposite. But it never would be any real matter to him since Kuroro was just going to keep the promise that he gave as the condition of the deal, nothing more. The customer had not mentioned anything about revenge neither for Kurapika's, neither for the Phantom Troupe's side, though, so Kuroro wouldn't break the primary deal. Kuroro lowered face to Kurapika's and spoke slowly, repeating the only thing that mattered for the moment.

"I already told you that you must close your eyes, Kuruta." Seeing that the avenger wouldn't listen to simple suggestions or orders, Lucifer decided to get some things clear. "You know, it would be a shame to lose the last pair of red eyes because of your stubbornness."

The youth seemingly stiffened at the last sentence and finally did the ordered thing. Last? Why would Kuroro care about that? Kurapika's mind failed to capture the full meaning of the sentence. But his confusion grew to the highest point with the next words of his blood-sworn enemy.

"Now, tell me the number of your doctor friend." After a short moment, Kurapika's confusion turned to anger.

"You've already got me; don't even dare touch my friends!" It was hard to speak, but he did it. He was trying not to think that it took almost all his power to do that.

"So you prefer being blind for the rest of your life than telling me it?" The wonder in Kuroro's voice was definitely put-on one. It started to be a one-sided dialogue, where only one spoke his words aloud – the other was too exhausted to make any sounds. But there was no need for words as the emotions in the red eyes perfectly replaced them. Kuroro didn't need to be a mind-reader because the answer was clear enough.

"Of course, you'll just cut my eyes out, if I won't tell you it." That was the answer told by the scarlet eyes. Their vibrant colour started to dim, affected by the illness, but Kurapika couldn't notice that. The only thing he could notice was the sudden deterioration of his vision. And then the unexpected realization reached his mind. Now it all became perfectly clear – about his bad eyesight, the pain, Kuroro… No, about Kuroro it wasn't clear at all. But it didn't matter to Kurapika now.

He instinctively closed his eyes, trying to analyse the current situation. And the conclusions weren't good at all. How ironic– the only survivor of the whole tribe will lose his eyes because of the genetic illness. Fate sure liked twisted paths.

It wasn't hard to remember old Dalliah. Actually, she wasn't so old, just around her thirties, but for a child like Kurapika at that time, she sure was. Her curly golden hair was already crossed with a couple of silver strands, adding another ten years to her appearance. There was one thing that always intrigued little Kurapika about Dalliah – her eyes. Speaking truthfully, the thing he was curious about was not her eyes, but the bandage which always covered them. When he asked somebody about it, the only answer was: "She is blind because of the accident." But it wasn't the truth. The real reason was something much worse. The Curse.

As Kurapika learned later, it wasn't the curse in the full meaning of the word. It was rather a genetic disease, which affected only one person in a generation - the one with the most vibrant and beautiful colour of eyes in their crimson state. His mother had told him once: "It is the only thing we can offer to our gods, Kurapika."

Her voice became sad as she noticed the all-too familiar blazes of red in the eyes of her son. The same ones had been in Dalliah's eyes before she became blind. But the little boy didn't give a lot of attention to the sudden change of the mood of his mother; he was too much in his own thoughts.

"Why do we need to offer something to them?" he asked, wondering about that. It was hard to imagine that the gods would like to take something like a human's eyesight. It didn't make any sense to him.

After a short moment of silence his mother sighed hard and answered, stroking his hair: "It is the price we pay for living peacefully in this land. You must understand this and accept it, if our gods will choose you as their sacrifice."

The memories were still bright, as if it all had happened yesterday. Kurapika laughed sadly, understanding, that this was the end of his path. No matter what, he's done. He wouldn't be able to finish his quest for revenge; his vision will fade away in no time, no matter the reason for it. Even if Kuroro won't take away his life and eyes, which was highly doubtful, the illness will make him blind. His tribe ceased to exist many years ago, but the Curse was still there, watching over the last of the Kuruta. There wasn't any peaceful world to pay for, so why? It sure was a silly idea to call the disease as a Curse or 'sacrifice'.

"So what now, Kuroro? Aren't you going to kill me and sell the last pair of Crimson Eyes?" Kurapika's voice was weak, emotionless. It took a lot of effort to speak like that, holding back his inclination to scream because of the helplessness in the current situation. The only emotion he felt now was overwhelming despair. It was just the 'perfect' ending of his miserable life, wasn't it?

"I'd been paid enough to keep you alive, Kuruta." Kuroro was absolutely calm, watching the pale face of the Chain Assassin. Of course, the boy didn't have any idea who had paid for it, although he knew this person well. As Lucifer remembered, he had doubted a lot before accepting this offer about killing the whole tribe – even the customer - except the one boy. It was a big mistake to leave the future avenger behind, but Kuroro was paid high enough to keep his part of a deal. And even after so many years he continued to keep his promise. Why? Perhaps, it was some kind of a criminal honour, which was so valued by Nobunaga. And maybe because he had never imagined that the last Kuruta will become a real threat to the Phantom Troupe.

Unexpectedly, the boy turned out to be a good enemy, almost equal to Kuroro by his capabilities and intellect level. The Chain Assassin sure was the best one from the whole tribe, if to compare his abilities to the rest of his kinsmen at the massacre. And, as to Lucifer, the value of the last of the Kuruta was much higher than the value of all of the Scarlet eyes put altogether. Those eyes were quite often called 'organic rubies'; actually, it was Kuroro who gave them this name. But Kurapika wasn't just some ruby; he was the rarest and the most expensive jewel humankind could ever imagine - the red diamond. The only and last one of his kind – the Boss of the Phantom Troupe knew that there wouldn't be any other descendants of the Kuruta tribe after him.

Kuroro wasn't going to let him live another year, not to mention giving enough time to leave any offspring. Everything he would do and say from now on will only confuse the Kuruta, entangle him into the spider's web of lies. There will be nothing that could save Kurapika from torture, physical and mental.

And in the end the Kuruta will lay his hands on himself of his own free will.

If Pakunoda and Uvogin were still here, alive, Kuroro, perhaps, would be proud of himself every time he had encountered with Kurapika. It could be like some unusual feeling of self-satisfaction that it was Lucifer who had made the avenger to reach the highest level of his capabilities. If Kurapika had lived a peaceful life, he sure would not have become so strong.

Now, it was disappointing to see how this boy was far away from his real potential; so weak, broken down by the sudden realisation. He wasn't close even to the worst ruby in the world, not to mention any diamonds. It was not worth it to kill Kurapika when he was ready to accept death; it would be too easy to send him off to his ancestors that way. No, the Kuruta must regain his hopes, to get as close as possible to his highest point just to find out that everything he still had left was once again destroyed because of him.

"But I wasn't paid for you to be blind for the rest of your life, so tell me your friend's number now. Or do you want me to send Hisoka for him?" It sure was the right threat. If the Kuruta was not worrying for himself, then he's still worrying about his friends. And Kuroro was going use them to get his own revenge for his fallen comrades – he still had his own part of the deal, which, since the rules had not included the possibility of revenge, will bring him a magnificent surcharge. The cost of all of the Scarlet eyes put together will be nothing compared to the feeling of guilt, from which Kurapika will suffer until his imminent end.

It will be a magnificent revenge for Pakunoda and Uvogin.

"If you do something to Leorio, I'll kill you."

Definitely, this kind of voice suited the Chain Assassin much better.